Blended Gray
by xXSnowLightXx
Summary: He tried to warn them, yet that was still not enough to save them. A secret, a seal, a frozen time. Will he continue to walk forward even though his world of black and white no longer exist? A bit AU. Rated T just to be safe.
1. A Peak into the Past

**A/N:** I hope that everyone will enjoy the first chapter of Blended Gray. I think that many will get confused because I added things in this fanfiction that never existed in the manga/anime. I promise that all the confusions will be explained in later chapters (mostly through flashbacks).

**Chapter summary:** A secret was revealed inside the Bookman's library. How will it affect everyone beliefs?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own D. Gray-Man in any shape or size. I would be content with just having Timcanpy eating all the carrots from my dinner plate.

"Speech"  
_'__Thoughts'_  
_Document related_  
**Flash backs**

* * *

One lone teen entered the great library of Bookman, the recorder of hidden history. His breath came out in rapid puffs as if he had been running for miles. His brown cloak was torn in places, if you looked closer, small flecks of blood was visible in some areas. His gray eyes searched the area warily, his body tense ready to defend in case of danger. He sighed in relief when there was no signs of life within this building. The teen went to the closest window, his fingers traced the stained pattern. The snow that was falling like feathery down were now slamming against the windows threaten to break them.

"What's with this weather?" The teen tried to stop his teeth from chattering. He searched for some comfort within this dusty place as he really needed to sleep. The teen turned around and stepped on his cloak. With nothing to stop him, he fell onto the ground and hit his head against a bookshelf.

"Ow!!! What are these bookshelf made of? They hurt more than a steel bar hitting you in the face!" The teen groaned, but sat up when a ripped book landed in his lap. He thought for a minute before opening the book.

_The last entry in ___ 's Logbook  
_

_I found this document in the library while I was cleaning. It looked so old that it was a miracle that it still existed. From the look of it, it was written in ancient text that could be said as identical to the ones found on the cube! It's not every day that you get to see things like this, even in a library as large as this!_

_Here is the translated version. Well, I did the best I could. But according to gramps, my translations suck._

_During one cloudy night, where not a sound could be heard out here in the desert, a group waited. There were about a hundred gathered together for the moment that their life would change. Everyone was wearing their sandy coloured cloak along with a strand of thread tied around their forehead keeping their hair pined back. They stood so still that they resembled statues to those far away. _

_One old man stood out from the crowd with his snow-white cloak and withered long snowy hair. He grasped a wooden staff in his bony, yet powerful hand as he watched the sky for some sort of sign. A young woman was standing tall and proud beside him, wearing a pale coloured cloak in comparison with the rest of the group. She closed her eyes and held her soft hands close to her heart as if she was praying. _

_Suddenly, a strong gust of wind picked up sand from beneath their feet caught their attention. A golden alter, beautiful yet terrible, appeared in front of them. _

_It was time._

_"What is your wish, young Wisher?" A voice from an unknown entity called out to the young woman._

_She was the youngest daughter of this clan, born with a powerful gift and given birth to a devastating burden. She is the Wisher; one with the necessary ingredients could make a wish come true. There were no exceptions or boundaries to her wish. However, some say that the price to pay for one single wish, no matter how godly it was, would always be too high._

_She turned to look at the rest of her clan; all were present. She knew that they all wanted the one thing that they couldn't have every since the end of the war. _

_"I wish...no...We wish that we can live as normal human beings." Her voice was confident for she must not show any weakness in front of the powerful entity._

_It looked at the woman carefully as if she was been judged before it turned to her white haired father and the rest of her family, none of them showed any hesitance._

_"Very well, bring the boy to me." It ordered, the Wisher shuddered much to its displease. "You are the Wisher, you cannot hold regrets in your heart."_

_"Yes, I understand." They young woman bowed low._

_A boy no older than seven was wearing all white much like the old man came out of a tent. As everyone around him kneeled on to the ground, he stepped on to the alter. He was smiling confident, like always. _

_"Brother!" A small girl within the crowd rushed forever to grab him._

_"Don't go to him!" A man beside the little girl tried to pull her away._

_"Sister, let me go." the boy whispered as he wiped her tears away._

_"Why can't we stay together, why did you have to be taken away!" She screamed._

_He hugged her tight, "Take care of mom okay?"_

_"Don't change the topic, tell me why!" She clenched onto him._

_"For the sake of everyone's wish." He looked at her, His strange silver eyes that was unlike any other members of the clan met with her golden eyes just for a instant before he turned around and headed for the alter. "Papa, I will be going."_

_The man who was holding his sister just nodded. In truth, he wanted to stop his son right there. But he was just an outsider who married to the clan chief's youngest daughter due to his talent with sorcery and for defeating the leader of their enemy. Even though the boy was his own son, his very first son, there was absolute nothing he could do to change his child's fate. He still remembered the conversation between him and his wife's father clearly even though it was months before today._

_**Flashback**__  
__**Two figures were sitting around the table inside a large tent. The young man looked worried as the older man continued to drink his tea.**_

_**"I have a request Father." The young man asked.**_

_**"If it is about your son, then it would be best for you to leave." The older man put his tea down.**_

_**"He is my son, Father. I can't give him away just like that!" The young man pleaded.**_

_**The old man sighed, "Even if I somehow stop 'it' myself, your son will one day leave to search for 'it'. It's something that cannot be changed. You of all people should know better than that."**_

_**The young man looked furious, "Don't take about that anymore. I did what I have to do." His fists clenched together.**_

_**The old man looked down at his teacup, "He do will do what he must do, just like what you did." **_

_**"But he is my SON, he is not me!" The young man stood up with rage that surprised even himself, he quickly calmed himself. It wasn't wise to lose self-control in front of someone as powerful as his father.**_

_**The old man paused for a sec before adding, "He may be your son, but he is also my grandson." **_

_**The young man gasped in shock as a tear ran down his father's cheek, the old man quickly regained his posture before putting a strange box on the table. "Here, I want you to have this." **_

_**The young man opened the box revealing a strange orb that seemed to be sucking surrounding light. "What is this thing, it's strong enough to knock any normal human to the ground."**_

_**The old man seemed to hesitate before replying, "It's dark matter. I believe one day that you might need it."**_

_**The young man recoiled in shock as the thought flashed by in his mind, 'the powerful old man of the light is making a deal with the devil? ' He shook his head, "I won't use it, I will not lead this clan to its destruction."**_

_**"When the time comes, you won't have any choice."  
Flash back ends**_

_'What did he mean by not having any choices?'_ _The man wondered._

_His sister slipped away from their father as he was in deep thought. She tried to follow her brother, but the moment she reached for her brother's cloak, something invisible slammed her away._

"_It would be wise for you not to approach him, daughter of the Wisher." It did not understand their strange actions; all it knew was the boy must go with him._

_The youngest daughter took the little girl in her arms as the girl cried. A strange white flame appeared out of nowhere covering the entire alter with the boy in the middle. He was been burned alive, yet he was still smiling with his eyes closed as if he didn't feel the pain._

_"Mama! Why is brother the one? Why?" Her voice quavered._

_"Because that is his duty, it was decided on the day he was born, merged with 'them'." The wisher replied. She could only watch her first son taken away from her by her father the moment he came out of her womb. She knew that everyone was just as sad as she was to sacrifice an innocent life, but their desire to be normal was much greater. Her precious son argued that his life was meant for this clan. The life that was necessary for the clan's wish to come true._

_As the boy's body started to disappear, he smiled at his sister, "Will you promise me one thing?"_

"_Anything!" His sister cried._

"_Be happy." He opened his silver eyes that were now glowing with unimaginable power, perhaps even greater his grandfather._

_She had never heard such pleading tone from her brother, 'You didn't want to go, did you?'_

_"I...promise!" She would uphold this promise, even in death._

_He sighed as if in relief, to be finally free of this burden, this responsibly that was too much for even a full-grown man. His silver eyes met all the golden ones before disappearing forever out of their reach. The little girl shuddered in pain and sadness. Nothing was left, no fire, no brother, no clothes, not even a speck of dust._

_The little girl struggled to stand up, this time no one tried to stop her. She kneeled down on where her brother was breathing his last breath. She hugged herself tightly as if she wanted to feel him for just one last time._

_As the last blow of the wind brushed passes her, she looked up at a bright crimson star shining in the night sky._

_"Brother, I want to see you again."_

_..._

_No way! I was just about to start on the next part when the entire document just collapsed into dust. All that work for nothing and after rereading what I wrote down, I was rewarded with more questions than answers._

_The wisher...Okay, it's obvious from her namesake that she can make wish come true. However I really don't like the right material part. Apparently she had to sacrifice her own son who possessed this unique object or something in order to make the wish. Oh, man! The price is really high, but to be able to wish that you could be god...Can it be done?_

_'Don't even go there, Bookman must record the hidden histories without been caught in between. Why should I ever wonder if it could be done? My job is to record, nothing more than that. Gramps always say that I'm not fit to be a Bookman. Perhaps he was right. Oh shut up. Now you doubt yourself? Good job on making yourself miserable!'_

_And there is the 'it' and 'them', what are those things. From what I can tell, 'it' might be the entity that wanted the boy. Then what are 'them'? I know from the document that they were merged with the kid, but there weren't anything else about them. It also seemed the dark matter stated in the conversation would be used by the clan that devoted themselves to the Light because they would be desperate sometime in the future (or the past for me)._

_What about the silver eyes and the gold eyes? What about the part where the wisher wished they would become human? What about that strange old man and the husband of the Wisher? It was recorded that they won this war, which war did they win?_

_I'm surprised that my head hasn't exploded yet as I'm writing this down. All the information I have here are both confusing and strange. If I hand this entry to a scientist, not that it will ever happen, they will probably think I'm mad._

_I must give this to gramps as soon as possible, even if the proof disappeared. He might be able to find more clues within this context than I will ever be able to in my life. Come to think of it, if gramps see me now, he might have a heart attack. I mean who wouldn't if they see me, someone who was never seen holding a textbook, with hundreds of textbooks, scrolls, dictionaries all piled up to the ceiling all around._

_There is one thing I can conclude after reading this context. There is not a doubt in my heart now that my brain just shifted into high gear._

_The clan in the text was the Noah Clan._

_But than who was the husband that married into the clan, he was just a human right?_

_So many questions, so few answers._

_The apprentice of ___th Bookman_

_***_

_This shall be the very last entry in this logbook. It pains me greatly to see the worse happen right in front of me._

_It was always a tradition for Bookman to write the last entry within their apprentice's book when they failed to complete their training and bury the logbook within their coffin. I did not know that this moment would come to me. The Bookman before me had warn me to prepare for the worst, now I'm glad for his words as my heart is too weak to take such shook._

_I'm getting too old for this._

_I hope you may rest in peace, my dear apprentice._

_The ___th Bookman_

_***_

The lone teen slammed the book shut, "Well, that was sure a waste of time. This doesn't explain anything." The teen groaned. "I'm missing my needed sleep!"

"I for one believe we have found the answer we had been searching for." Whispered a strange mist that appeared beside the teen.

The boy didn't seem surprised by the mist, "Like what? The fact that this woman could make wish come true?"

"Correct."

The teen looked at the mist as if it had gone mad. He was about to make his remark when a memory that he had been suppressing rushed back to him.

**Flash back  
"What do you mean I have to kill some one I love? Master!"**

**"Listen to the 14th when he awakens, there is another side to this war that we are fighting right now. Just remember no to die too soon this time. "**

**"Wait!"  
Flash back ends**

"Where is the 14th when you need him?" The teen yelled in frustration, "It's all your fault."

"No, I just did what I have to do. You have to agree that having me absorbing him was better than having 14th absorbing you. You didn't want to kill anyone you love either." The mist argued, "You know you sound more like me now, yelling like a brat."

"Oh forget it." The teen replied, "The other side of the war, the other side..."

He quickly flipped to the last entry again and quickly skimmed the last page. His eyebrows screwed together from the effort of his concentration.

"What did you find?" The mist asked.

"I get the last part since the writer basically gave us the answer. The Noah Clan won this war that could be the last 'three day of darkness'. In the end they decided to give up their power of light." The teen pointed to the entry, "The old man, maybe Noah himself gave a orb of dark matter to this son in law person and told him he would need to use it. If the wish came true then the people of the Noah Clan became human. So sometimes between after they became human till maybe a few years ago, the orb was used, since the Noah Clan that we know all use dark matter."

"Wow. Your brain must be fried by now." The mist chuckled.

"Hey! I'm trying to be serious here." The teen protested, "If the Noah Clan helped with our side before, why did they end up working for Earl?"

"Who knows? But look at here." The mist formed a hand and pointed at the context.

_She is the Wisher; one with the necessary ingredients could make a wish come true. There were no exceptions or boundaries to her wish._

"No exceptions or boundaries?" The teen questioned, "That's amazing!"

"And dangerous!" The mist warned, "The power to wish can be deadly."

"What did Inspector say again? Something about 'we are here to win the war'." The teen turned to look at the mist. "The Noah Clan won the last war...A wisher and a wish with no limit.... Another side of the war...we must win..."

"Maybe that's why the Black Order wants to win so much." The mist said in a matter of fact tone.

The teen stood up filled with rage greater than the one he felt when the CROW tried to kill him. "A wish?! They are using us as tools for one single wish?! What happened to kill the akuma and find the heart."

"I don't read minds so how am I suppose to know. But remember, it's a wish with no limit. I bet 99.9% of my body that the Heart is one of the materials."

"Won't that make Earl the good guy?" The teen asked. "Didn't he want the Heart to be destroyed?"

"Like what I said before, we don't know what he wants!" The mist growled. "Beside, akuma need a soul of the dead to survive, couldn't Earl bring back the Wisher?"

"Then almost all the materials will be found." The teen suddenly coughed, his hands flew to his mouth as blood spewed out. His eyes darkened as he saw all the blood on the ground. _'I don't have much time left, but I can't die yet, there are still things that I need to do.'_

The mist could watched in silence as the teen continued to spew out blood. It sighed in relief when the cough stopped.

"There must be something else here." The teen replaced the diary back onto the shelf.

"There is something that we know for sure." The mist stated.

"Stop playing your games here." The teen sighed, "You are pushing my patience to the limit."

The mist slide towards the teen, "We are not the only ones who have read this entry."

"What do you mean?" The teen turned around, his eyes alert.

"This diary is supposed to be buried with the apprentice as stated here by the Bookman himself." The mist pointed to the bottom of the entry, "So why is it back on the shelf?"

...

"Looks like someone went grave digging." The teen joked.

* * *

Done!

Okay, I thought that went pretty well, but kind of slow.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

You can all criticize me as much as you want, but just please don't flame me.

tx! : )


	2. Let the World Crumble to Dust

Here is the second chapter, hope everyone will enjoy it. : )

**Disclaimer:** I can't think of any reason that it could be own by me, but having Timcanpy who could even eat cigarettes would be nice.

**Chapter summary**: Allen decided to go back to the Order to warn his friends, but would it holds a price too great for him to pay?

"Speech"  
_'Thoughts'_  
_Documents_  
**Flashbacks**

* * *

The teen and the mist was in a heated conversation inside the Bookman's library.

"Grave digging? More like overturning the entire yard." The mist retorted. "What's the chance of someone finding this diary from all those coffins." He gestured towards the field that was covered by December snow.

"There are a lot of people who could have read this entry." the teen slapped his head in frustration; "You think people from the Central might have access to here?"

"They have access to everywhere, so why not here? Those recorders are neutral!" The mist growled. "Wasn't the title 'Bookman' given to them by the Vatican?"

"We need to tell the others. If you are right, then the Heart is dangerous." The teen whispered.

The mist gasped, surprised the teen. "You mustn't!"

"Why not?" The teen glared at the mist

"I don't want you to return to the Order." The mist pleaded.

"I'm not going to watch them die for something so idiotic." the teen protested, "I decided that I would be fighting for Akuma and my friends long time ago, that haven't change even though I'm not with the Order anymore. "

For once, the Mist was silent.

***

The grand Ark once pure and white now soaked in crimson and black blood. Countless bodies of Finders, Exorcists, Akumas, even a few Noahs now lay on the ground lifeless.

Two people were running toward their destination, soaked in blood from head to toe, both from the dead and from their own wounds. Tears ran down the face of the girl, her long green hair loose down her shoulder. They would be cut again as they were dirtied beyond repair. A boy with with messy white hair dyed light shade of red was running right next to her, his gray eyes appeared hollow.

**Flashback  
_"Only you two can reach it! So get going!" _Kanda screamed at them. He was covered in blood and wounds as his curse no longer heals him. His black hair hanged loose, free from their normal style.**

_**"We can hold them back!" **_**Lavi still wore his cheery smile...it was so fake, so forced. He too was covered in blood.**_** "Hi-ban!" **_**He yelled.**

**One single flame serpent appeared from his hammer destroying a group of levels 3s. Kanda slammed Lenalee and Allen into the final hallway and shut the door in their face.**

_**"Lavi, Kanda! Why? Let me go back!" **_**Lenalee slammed and kicked at the door, with her body finally gave out, she collapsed to the floor. **

**Allen bend down to pick Lenalee up.**

_**"Let me down! Let me down, Allen!" **_**Lenalee screamed,**_** "I have to go back and help them!"**_

_**"Listen to me Lenalee." **_**His eyes were stone hard.**_** "We have to get the heart, it's the only way out now. Besides, Lavi and Kanda are both too stubborn to get killed by level 3s" **_**Allen tried to cheer her up.**

_**"Allen..." **_**Lenalee buried her head in his arms and cried, soaking his jacket with her tears.**_**  
**_**Flash back ends**

Allen knew that Lavi and Kanda weren't going to be there to greet them when they get back. His newly evolved left eye told him there were at least twenty level 4s heading towards Lavi and Kanda, fast.

He sighed, _How did the Earl found out about the location so soon? _He remembered his conversation with the mist_. __He warned me not to come back, is it too late to change my mind? _Allen shook his head, troubled by the thought.

_ I'm supposed to keep on walking like Mana said, not to turn back!  
_

It all started with his left eye's new function-finding innocence. Which led to finding the heart. Allen finally returned to Order after he made up his mind, despised going against Mist's pleading.

Allen was found unconscious in front of the Order few days after he left the Library. Due his friends' request, the order sent him to the hospital with 2 CROW members guarding the door. A strange red glow pulse out to him during those days, calling out to him. Somehow, he knew that it was the Heart.

Thanks to the inspector's threat, Allen was forced to reveal the location, but an unknown person slipped this information to Earl. Almost all of his Akuma army were sent to block the order from getting to the Heart.

'_Only the Heart can change things now.'__  
_

**Flash Back  
**"**Allen! You got to wake up!" A voice called out, forcing him to open his eyes.**

**Allen groaned,**"**Who..."  
**

**A girl gasped in delight and bend over to hug him. "You woke up. I thought you were never going to wake up again."**

**A tear splashed onto his face, "Lenalee?"**

**Tears continued to splash down her face, "When you disappeared, I thought we weren't going to see each other again, everything just felt...empty." She looked around at the room they were in.  
**

"**I..." Allen looked around to see the new hopsital room, everything was painted white with no windows in sight. _'This is worse than painting it blood red, at least it won't feel so...dull.'_  
**

"**Oh! I forgot! You slept pass your 16th birthday! Happy birthday Allen." Lenalee wiped away her tears.**

"**Lenalee..."**

"**DINNER TIME! Allen, it's dinnertime! There are Mitarashi dango****!" Lavi along with Bookman and other close friends came through the door. "Ah you are awake! Did you know how heavy you got while you were away?"  
**

"**I think it's probably you who got weaker." Allen laughed as he tied his hair back into a ponytail, he noticed that everyone was looking at him. "What is it?"  
**

"**You made Lenalee cry again." Lavi pointed out.  
**

**Allen sweat dropped, but suddenly froze as a blade was pointed at his throat. He looked up to see Kanda looking down at him.**

"**Kanda! Let Allen go!" Lenalee cried out in fear.**

**Kanda ignored her, "Where were you?" **

**Krory and Miranda wanted to say something but Lavi held them back. "Let's see how will Allen work this out." He whispered.**

"**Kanda, you are here too?" Allen smiled.**

"**Don't give me that innocent look. You still haven't answer me." Kanda's hand wavered. **

**"I was traveling around." Allen sighed. "Could you please remove Mugen?"  
**

"**Traveling? Don't joke." **

"**Kanda, a entire CROW squad was sent to kill me, I had to go somewhere else." Allen protested.  
**

'_**CROW was sent to kill him? What is he talking about?'**_ **Lenalee wondered, **_**'****Brother said he went missing during a mission.' **_

"**You..." Kanda was having a hard time holding his sword there. **_**'****What is going on? Mugen is howling, at me?'**_

"**You really need to shed your sword," Allen's face darkened, "I can't guarantee your safety if you insist on attacking me."**

"**Allen! You won't go and attack a friend! It's not like you." Lenalee cried out.**

"**I won't, but Clown might." Allen replied in a matter of fact tone.  
**

"**Clown?" Lavi's eyebrow went up. **_**'****Who on earth is Clown, I mean who wants a name like that?'**_

"**Did you call me Allen?" A childish voice called out from behind Allen before appearing in front of everyone.**

"**He looks like..." **

"**Crown Clown." Krory finished the sentence for Lavi.**

**Clown wrapped his black arms around Allen like giving a big brother a hug, "Kanda is hurting you."**

"**Don't worry about it. Feminine face**** is always like this." Allen smirked.**

"**What did you call me Beansprout!?" Kanda went on fire.**

**"What? Not good enough for you? And my name is Allen, A-L-L-E-N!" Allen yelled, pushing Kanda's sword away before turning to Lenalee "Is the supervisor here?" **

"**You are looking for my brother?" Lenalee asked.**

"**ALLEN, you are back!" A man holding a cup of coffee barged into the room, wearing his everyday cloak. Now and then, a strange click could be heard from within his hat. "We were getting really worry."**

**Everyone sweat dropped when Komui entered. '_He haven't change at all.'_ Allen thought. **

"**Supervisor." Allen called out.**

**Everyone flinched at the iciness of Allen's tone, especially Komui. _'Does he blame me?'_**

**Komui went to sit by Allen, "So you wanted to see me?" **

"**Yeah... it's about-"**

"**Look at what we have here." A tall, well-built man entered the room with a smaller figure, two CROW members were following behind. **

_**'I should have realized that they would be here! I was so caught up with warning my friends that I forget something so important!**'_**Allen wanted to slap himself, "Malcolm, Link." He nodded at the smaller figure.**

"**So now you addresses me with my first name, Allen Walker." the inspector looked around at the crowd. Many shuddered under his gaze, Lenalee completely paled. Allen watched Lenalee as she tried to calm herself down, **_**'****She still has fear for him? What did he do to her? I never got the chance to ask Komui.**_

"**Allen, let me kill him!" Bitterness filled the childish voice. Clown somehow activated his black claws and was ready to strike. "I had enough of him hurting you."**

"**Allen, what is Clown talking about?" Miranda asked when she saw the teen clenched his fists"**

"**I was tried for Heresy." Allen whispered, Clown who was beside him growled, sending people away.**

"**That wasn't what we were told about." Lenalee looked at her brother. "Did you know brother?"**

**Komui looked away, refuse to meet his sister's gaze. **

"**They decided that 14th was dangerous****. However Crown Clown somehow absorbed him so I gained 14****th**** power, but not his memories. It seemed that he gained some personalities afterward like General Klaud****'s anti-akuma beast, so now he is like this." Allen gestured towards Clown who was still baring fangs at Malcolm and Link. "My left arm is now filled with swirling tattoos, instead of the normal black color. It doesn't change anymore when I ****activate.**

**"He is way more aggressive than Lau Shimin." Lavi retorted.**

**"His not a monkey Lavi." Lenalee argued.  
**

"**Why were you tried for Heresy if the 14****th**** never woken up?" Miranda questioned.**

"**Miranda, it's obvious. In their eyes, I couldn't be trusted." Allen shook his head, "Clown woke up in rage, I couldn't calm him down at all. He took control of my body and fled the Order."**

"**Why didn't you tell me this brother?" Lenalee turned to her brother. "Why didn't you? Was it because so that people would forget Allen?"  
**

"**I..." Komui didn't know how he could answer his sister's question. Kanda noticed komui's knuckles were pale white.  
**

"**It's fine, I'm not here to start some inside war if that's what you two were expecting." Allen stared at the two inspectors before turning back to the crowd. _'Should I warn them with the inspectors here?'_**

**"Do you guys know who Wisher is?"  
**

"**Who?" Lavi asked, not noticing Bookman's stiff posture.  
**

**"I'm surprised that you even know that name." Malcolm watched him with interest.**

**"Allen, what are you talking about?" Lenalee asked.**

**Allen hesitated, he didn't expect the inspectors will be in the room when he planned this. "I came across a Diary in the Bookman's library, an apprentice translated a document and recorded it down. It talked about a Wisher who could make a wish come true by sacrificing her own son. Her son possessed a unique object, Clown and I believe that the Heart is that object."**

**"She sacrificed her own son?!" Miranda looked horrified before fainting, Krory grabbed her before she falls to the ground.  
**

**"The Heart is the unique object? We are trying to find something that would kill a innocent child for a wish?" Lenalee grasped Allen' hand so tight that he yelped. "Oh sorry Allen." She released her grip. "Brother, did you know about this too?" **

**"I..." Komui looked like a mouse trapped in a glass cage.**

**"Would this make Earl the good guy?" Krory pointed out, still pale from the shock.**

**"There might be some connection between the Wisher and Akuma's evolution." Allen replied.  
**

**"The heart is one of the material."****Malcolm replied, shocking everyone,  
**

**"What! We are helping you performing some kind of sacrifice ceremony?!" Lavi yelled out before he was shushed by a warning glare from Bookman.  
**

**"Using the Heart, we shall win this war!" Malcolm ordered, "Your next mission, retrieve the Heart."**

**"We don't even know where the Heart is." Kanda turned to Malcolm, "Unless you are planning to send us on a around the world trip, which would be wasting my time."**

**"There is someone here that knows the location." Malcolm smirked, "Right Mr. Walker?"**

**Everyone quickly turned to Allen whose eyes went larger than dinner plates.**

**_'How did he found out?!'_  
Flash back ends**

The last door leading to the Heart was right in front of them. They rushed towards it with a new burst of hope. However that hope were crushed just like all the others. Hundreds of level 3s and maybe about fifty level 4s were waiting for them in the room, a few giant Akuma were present as well. They were the last obstacle standing between them and the heart.

"Dark boots, activate!" Lenalee yelled.

The two blood anklets melted and formed her dark boots. She used sonic boom and landed right in the middle of the Akumas. Using her waltzes of wind, many of them soon fall.

"Clown! We got to help her!" Allen called to his Crown Clown.

A silvery transparent mist started to form around Allen, a mask appeared out nowhere and settled on top of the mist.

"Go to her." Allen pleaded.

"You better take care of yourself." Clown reminded him before heading toward Lenalee.

"Hiss"

Allen turned around to see a group of level 3s surrounded him.

"Oh, the exorcist here just left himself out in the open! We can have some fun with him!" One of the level 3s laughed like a maniac.

"Do you really think that I will leave myself helpless?" Allen's eyes turned cold. He raised his right arm high about his head and began to sing.

Two strange circles appeared around his arm. Strange symbols soon covered them similar to the ones on 14th 's score.

"What? I can't...move!" A level 3 called out in frustration as a circle appeared around him. "What did you do to us?"

"I may be a exorcist, but I also have his power!" For a second, Allen's left eye turned gold.

All around him, level 3s and level 4s started to act strangely. They started to attack other Akumas that were not in Allen's control **. Every time when the controlled Akuma took down another Akuma, they explode in pain. Allen took advantage of this confusion and grabbed Lenalee as he rushed towards the heart. _'Am I so desperate that I would let their soul disappeared like that?'_

They fell into a strange chamber...headfirst. The heart lay at the very center, a glowing red cube. Allen pulled Lenalee up to her feet before rushed toward the Heart. He held it in his hands so gently.

"We got it!"

_'You are finally here! I been waiting for soooooooo long! You really took your time!"_ a voice sounded inside his head.

Allen yelped in shock, he tried to find the voice.

"Ahhhhhh!" a loud scream came from behind him. He quickly turned around to see a sword much like his own sticking out of Lenalee's chest. The sword was drawn sending a spray of blood across his face. The poor girl died before she even hits the ground.

"Lenalee?" Allen froze, as if he didn't believe what he just saw.

"Even if they are exorcists, they are so fragile." A weird, almost straggled laugh came from the shadow. "So we meet again, Allen Walker!"

Allen looked up at the weird bunny like person with pitch black eyes, "You! Why did you kill her? I was the one that had the Heart!"

"Ah, she was a nuisance to my plan. I have you to thank for, bring her right to me." Earl laughed his straggled laugh. "Why don't I show you miracle before you die." Earl withdrew a strange white orb from his pocket.

Allen backed away with the Heart. "What is that?"

"You already know the answer!" Earl looked at Allen straight in the eye with an evil gleam. "It's time to wake my masterpiece!"

The Earl dropped the now glowing orb into Lenalee's body. Lenalee's body started to shudder, her eyes opened in shock, revealing a pair of glowing gold iris. The Earl laugh happily while singing Happy birthday, "Let's make a wish for the birthday girl!"

"NO!" Allen sudden falls to his knee and started to cough, drops of the blood splashed onto the Heart. '_I over used his power!'_

"Looks like your time is up!" Earl laughed as he watch the boy coughing up blood. Seeing the boy having no chance of defending himself, Earl once again raised his sword and slashed down. "Goodbye, boy!"

_'I will not let you die!' _A voice called out in Allen's mind.

The Earl went pass the dead Allen to grab the Heart, his eyes went wide. "How could this be? Where is the real one?" Earl howled in frustration and crushed the fake heart in his hand, "How could I have miscalculated this?"

Clown rushed in as he heard Earl's howl. Allen was lying on the ground with the shattered fake Heart beside him. '_So the frozen time restarts.'_

***

So dark...

So cold...

Where am I...?

"You should stop hurting yourself by asking such useless questions." A voice called out to him.

Allen looked up at the sound of another voice. He saw a white figure walking towards him, or rather more like dancing towards him.

"You are the one who called me?" Allen puzzled.

"You have to ask?" The white figure pulled down his hood, revealing a mass of brown hair tied back much like Tiki Miki, the Noah of pleasure.

Allen's eyes went wide in shock.

"You look like..."

"You? At least your are not too dumb in the head to realize that!" The Allen looked alike laugh. It sounded like pearls hitting each other in the most beautiful melody.

The white figure looked like he was made from the same mold as Allen, however there were still few differences. The Allen look alike didn't have the tattoo that now rest on Allen's left arm and he doesn't have Allen's cursed eye, his hair was also much longer in a different color. Allen couldn't see his eyes as they were hidden behind his bangs.

"Who are you?" Allen questioned.

"Don't know, don't remember, but there is one thing I am sure of." He smirked.

"What's that one thing?" Allen's mind was overfilled with information that he couldn't possibly digest. He calmed himself down by taking in a deep breath, "And why do you look like me?"

"Man! I supposed someone must have hit your head too much. I can't believe you haven't put the two questions of yours together." The other Allen smiled so angelically that it could fool a devil.

Allen looked at him, puzzled.

"I am you."

* * *

.....and chop.

*The heart wants him. There is a very good reason, Allen wasn't chosen randomly. Clown doesn't want Allen to find the heart though.

**Allen gained 14th power along with the power to control the Ark (of course they are made up). However they put a lot of pressure on his body, which is something he can do without.

Just in case you haven't made the connection yet, the Mist is Clown. I didn't want to name him before the flashback.

/Taking a deep breath

Finally got this chapter done. It was definitely different from how it was draft in the first place. Allen's plan to warn his friends really backfired. He played right into his enemies' hand. I felt bad about pushing Komui into the corner, but a job as the supervisor will always be hard.

A lot thanks for the reviews! : )

I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing.


	3. Building a New Path

**A/N :**The third chapter is up! Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing the story. /smile  
The power Allen got from the 14th is very strong, however he won't be using that one again anytime soon. Don't they say that stronger power comes with a higher price? One of the reasons is the stress that it puts on his body, and remember it's Noah's power, not innocence's (That makes a huge difference when you attack Akuma if you are Allen).

**Disclaimer:** I do not own , I doubt that I want to as Cross's habit of drinking wines is really....scary?

**Chapter summary:** You thought meeting with your reflection, who claimed to be you, was confusing, what about finding yourself back to where you were one year ago climbing that cliff?

_Note: this is more of a conversation/thoughts type of chapter, so little action. /sigh _

"Speech"  
_'Thoughts'_  
_Documents/dreams/etc._  
**Flash Backs**

Enjoy!

* * *

In the world of endless gray, two people standing still facing each other. One was black. The other was white.

"You are me?" Allen questioned. "What do you mean?!"

"I don't remember." The reflection just smiled. He waved his hand. The endless gray parted, revealing Allen's dream world.

"This place, it's where I saw the 14th for the first time." Allen looked around. The white moon high up in the sky, the white trees surrounded the endless plain. "There was a lake here too showing a black moon. I saw Lenalee sitting on the ruins, crying. I wanted to go over to her, but he stopped me."

Allen walked to the lake, or what is left of it. There weren't any reflections, any images, just a pool of dark red liquid. He reached down towards the surface. "Is that-" before he could touch the water, the reflection pulled him away. Allen gasped as a fist punched him in the stomach, the last thing he could remember was the reflection's innocent eyes..

The reflection caught the unconscious Allen in his arm, "Didn't the 14th tell you not to do there."

***

A mass of silver particles gathered together just above the surface of the water. It floated across the water to where the the reflection was resting.

"Clown, I thought Allen was taking his time! Was pretending to be a five years old so amusing to you?" Allen's reflection looked at Clown with puppy eyes.

"What happened?" Clown asked, looking at the unconscious Allen lying in front of them.

"He was this close, " The reflection gestured with his fingers, "to the water."

Clown touched the surface of the water, sending ripples across the entire lake. "There is nothing left."

"Cause that girl named Lenalee doesn't exist anymore, unless you count her body."The reflection smiled dreamily.

Clown went back to where Allen was. "The lake should be frozen. It's dangerous to leave it like this, Allen will just tried to go there again."

"Then it should just disappear." The reflection held on to Allen and whispered, "It's time for us to go..."

Strange glow appeared from the two of them, one black and one white entwining together as Clown shattered back to particles. Strange symbols appeared, struggling to contain the growing mass of gray. However when a few symbols were broken apart, the others were soon pushed back.

Trees shattered like crystals, the lake flooded the plain, the grass turned brown and dry, the moon shrink down to the size of a faraway star. The symbols used the their last resort forming a net like structure, finally contained the gray mass... but the damage was done.

The world was gone.

***

Under the full moon, a young boy no older than 15 was climbing up the cliff that led up to the Black Order. It seemed strange to him that the Black Order would be built on top of the mountain.

"Why couldn't they choose a better place to build? Well, at least make it more acceptable." The boy gasped as he continued to climb.

Unknown to him at that time, there was an elevator at the very bottom of the mountain that could have taken him straight up.

"Finally...I made it!" He collapsed trying to get his breath back. He sweat dropped when he looked up, "Timcanpy, you sure I made it to the right place? It's very...um...gloomy."

Meanwhile a ghostly figure in the sky was trying to wake the other one up.

"Wake up Allen!" the reflection screamed in his ears.

"Ahhh!" Allen jumped; he scowled when he saw the reflection. "You didn't have to yell that hard! Why did you hit me anyways?"

"I had my reasons." the reflection shrugged his shoulders.

"Wait a minute! That's me!" Allen screamed in shock when he saw his younger self walking towards the gate. "Why am I doing over there? Hey! How come the Black Order is still there?" Allen pointed to the tall tower.

"Are you an idiot?" The reflection yelled, "We are back to the point where you are about to meet with the Black Order.

"You can time travel?" Allen was holding his head feeling a serious headache was on its way.

"I never said it was time travel!" The reflection's voice clearly stated that he wouldn't go any farther on that topic. "Now, let me explain to you what's going to happen now." He sat down before continuing, "We are currently at a point of your life where a big change will happen, which is entering the Order. Now, since we know that in the future everyone will die, we need to make some changes. The best time will be now." the reflection pretended that he didn't notice Allen's tense figure. "

"What am I suppose to do, tell them that the Earl is going to win the war?" Allen became smaller as a giant thundercloud appeared above his head. "So many died, so many..."

The reflection slapped his head in frustration, "Are you going to hold onto that memory forever? Didn't Mana say not to stop? You are supposed to keep on walking, no matter what the obstacle was.

Allen rose his head, "How did you know about Mana?"

The reflection gave him a strange look, _'I did tell him that I'm him, so what's strange about knowing his, our stepfather?'_ The reflection took a small box out of his pocket.

"A deck of cards?" Allen questioned.

"Yes a deck of card." the reflection opened the box. He flung the entire deck out around him. Strangely they stayed afloat in mid air. He started to whisper in a voice too low for Allen to hear. The cards started to glow before forming a circle around Allen.

"What are you doing?" Allen looked at the cards. _'They seemed familiar, somehow.'_

The reflection seemed satisfied with his work as he went to check each card. "I'm going to shift you into your younger self without you losing any memories."

Allen groaned, "I'm going to be called bean sprout again."

The reflection raised an eyebrow, "You are the exact height as before. Beside, didn't Kanda called you that when you returned to the order?"

Allen was about to protest when the cards suddenly started to drag him toward his younger self. Allen let out a scream of pure terror.

The younger Allen looked up to the sky, '_I thought I heard something.'_ His eyes went wide as he saw this ghostly blur heading straight towards him.

"At least tell me your name!" Allen called out to his reflection.

The reflection smirked, "You can call me Nobel."

Nobel nodded satisfied when Allen entered his younger body. His face became dream-like when he touched the black teardrop shaped crystal that hanged round his neck. He continued to watch the scene below him. "Please forgive me Allen. If I tell you the truth now, you wouldn't be able to understand. You will probably end up hating yourself. You can have a good rest here as Clown will be by your side."

***

Inside the office of the head supervisor Komui Lee, a group of scientist (including the supervisor), a strange robot named '65' plus an exorcist girl named Lenalee was watching a screen that was showing Allen.

"Who is that kid?" Komui who was drinking his coffee asked.

"No clue." Reever, the section leader of the science department replied.

"He has General Cross' golem though." Lenalee pointed out.

Suddenly the Allen on the screen stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Ouch, that hurts." Allen stood up realizing that he was indeed in his younger body_' Is Nobel around here too?'_ He sighed, '_L__et's just get this part over this...somehow.'_

"My name is Allen Walker, sent by Master cross. I believe that I was already introduced by him." Allen called out. _That was what I said last time right?'_

"Have you heard of this boy Komui?" Reever turned to look at the supervisor.

"Nope" Komui replied still drinking his coffee. '_A newcomer...I'm surprised that he could climb that cliff. However if he was sent by that Cross, than this is nothing.'_ Komui mentally snickered evilly, _'I shall make Cross pay for making us wait for four year when I get my hands on him!' _

"Please turn around and face the gate!" The bat golem ordered.

_'I remember this, Kanda tried to cut me open to see if I was Akuma because of my scar...__My scar? Don't tell me it's going to be like last time? I hate going through all that trouble, again!'_

The gatekeeper stretched down until he is just above Allen, "X-Ray scan."

Allen jumped as the gatekeeper started to scan_.'I'm never going to get use to this. Couldn't they think of a better way to scan people instead of this strange thing?_

_I can't read him at all!_ The gatekeeper looked surprised. _Why can't I scan him? It's it a bug? What is that thing? A pentacle? He is one of Earl's allies!?_The gatekeeper raised his head out with x on his eyes, but before he could sound the alarm, a voice called out to him.

_"You shouldn't keep him out here in the cold, that's not very nice of you. He should be inside were it's warm." _

To the Gatekeeper, the voice was sweet and gentile almost like an angel, yet it brought out a strange chill that left his mind numb as the voice grew louder, more forceful. It seemed to have a hypnotizing effect because the Gatekeeper's mind became nothing but a white sheet of paper with three words written across – 'Let him in!'

"He is safe." the Gatekeeper yelled.

"Well, why don't you go and greet him, Lenalee?" Komui requested.

"Sure brother." Lenalee smiled before going off.

"Ah, no more coffee. I'm going to need some more." Komui announced.

_'He needs more?' _The scientists sweat dropped.

***

"You may enter." The bat golem called out.

"um...Thank you..." Allen face was filled with disbelieve as the order's gate opened up. '_What just happened? He was about to sound the alarm...__'_

The gate raised up showing a girl standing there, waiting for him. He gasped and was about to call out when he remembered that she wouldn't have met him yet.

"Hello, my name is Lenalee, welcome to the black order. Why don't you come in?" Lenalee looked at Allen,'_He looks younger than me! I thought he was older than that because of his hair. _

"Okay..." Allen regained his posture before he walked in with her. '_She died in front of my eyes.'_ Allen flinched at that memory. '_I won't let that happen again_. He turned and saw her uniform._How could I have not realised that she was an exorcist like me when I met her. Her clothes should have given her away right from the start. I wonder what else I missed during my stay here.'_

The gate shut with a bang as Lenalee led Allen inside the order, the Gatekeeper looked extremely confused, _'What did I just do? Why did the gate open? There was no one here!'_

Nobel was sitting cross-legged, chuckling in the sky. 'It seemed that the Gatekeeper was only made to go against Akuma's attacks. The black order really need a upgrade." He stood up and stretched, "Well, good luck to my white self. I will be meeting you again in his room."

"...Just don't die this time."

***

They stepped inside the Order '_Just like how I remembered.'_ Allen thought.

Lenalee was going around showing him different places when he heard the guards talking about him. He sigh, '_Something will never change.' _His white hair and his scar bonded to draw a lot of attention. Good thing they haven't seen his scaly, deformed arm yet. He paused before raising his hand to his face. He almost shrieked. The red deformed arm wasn't there anymore, instead it was the same tattoo that he had after the Clown had awaken. '_That was supposed to have taken place in the future! What am I going to tell them?'_ Allen cursed his horrible luck. '_At least Nobel should have reminded me. I will have to make something up fast.'_

"Kanda!" Lenalee called out. Allen turned around just in time to see another exorcist.

"Lenalee." Kanda noticed Allen who was beside Lenalee stared back at him with a mix of surprise, guilt, and regrets. '_He is one strange, annoying kid.'_

"Hello, my name is Allen Walker. You name is Kanda right?" Allen offered his hand.

Kanda replied coldly, "What's with that scar?"

"Um..." Allen touched the pentacle, "It's a curse..."

"Che, so now we got a bean sprout who's cursed." Kanda walked away. "I don't shake hands with people like you."

Allen went on fire. "Bean sprout?! And what kind of reason was that? What about y-" He quickly stopped himself, '_I have to control myself better.'_

Kanda paused to watch Lenalee and Allen heading towards the supervisor, '_Was he about to say...'_

**Flash back**

**Kanda walked into his room to see Allen staring at his lotus.**

"**What are you doing in my room! GET OUT!" Kanda snarled. He glared at Allen when he refused to move. "Che, you are not going to move are you." **

"**No." Allen continued to look at the lotus, "What is that?"**

"**It's non of your business." Kanda noting the strange look Allen was giving him. Kanda shook his head in frustration. "It's a curse. Now can you leave ?!" He pushed Allen out of the room and slammed the door in his face, however not before Kanda heard Allen's question.**

"**Were you also cursed by the person that you loved?"**

**Flash back ends**

***

Lenalee led Allen to Komui who was standing there with yet another cup of coffee.

"Ah, Allen walker is it?" Komui smiled, "I hope you didn't have too much trouble."

"...Ah...no, none at all." Allen sweat dropped. "Oh, I forgot to tell you guys that there was a introduction letter from my master." He added.

'You shouldn't waste your breath, kid. That letter is probably lost under all his junks._'_ The scientists mentally stated.

"We can worry about that later." Komui led him down to the lower floors where Reever was looking over some files.

_'From that expression, it looks like Komui just crossed out something from his schedule.'_ Reever sighed, but looked up when he saw Allen. "You are Allen Walker? My name is Reever, section leader of the science department." He went forward and shook Allen's hand.

_'He didn't really need to introduce himself , but it's nice to see him again even if it's in the past.'_ Allen smiled at that thought.

"Who's the newcomer?" A voice appeared beside them causing Reever to drop his file.

_'When did he get here?_' Komui sweat dropped, 'His name is Allen Walker, a student of General Cross."

"His student? I never heard him taking one before." A bright red haired teen was sitting beside them, his emerald green eyes sparkled with laughter. "Does that mean you have an innocence?"

"You..." Allen's mind was in a state of shock. _'Lavi! I'm really glad to see him right now, but why is he, now? Nobel didn't see anything about changes in events!' _

_  
'...And he is scarier than Tiki when it comes to appearing out of nowhere!' _Allen mentally added.

"Ah, my bad. I'm Bookman, one who travel through out the world in order to record the hidden history. Innocence, if you don't know already, is the God's crys-"

_Slam_

A flying figure sent the teen toward the wall.

_Boom_

"Be quiet!" The old man warned.

"Sure panda!" The teen replied cheerfully, earning himself a swipe from the old man.

Allen chuckled softly. '_I really miss that glow in Lavi eyes. It was sad to see him always forcing himself to smile.'_

**Flash Back  
Allen was walking down the hall when he heard two voice arguing with each other. He paused to get a better look.**

**"Why are we leaving?" Lavi shouted.**

**"Because you have become too attached." Bookman replied.**

**"What's wrong with trying to protect them?" Lavi aruged.**

**"Bookman always stays by the sideline. Humans are just something histories that we must record. We can not let our emotions control us! How many times do I have to repeat this!" Bookman sighed when Lavi refused to back down. "It's for your own sake, Lavi. You didn't even realize that you are hurting yourself wearing that smile of yours. Let it go."**

**"How could I?" Lavi looked out towards mountains where the sky were dyed bright red.  
Flash Back ends**

"What is it?" The old man asked.

Allen was shocked that they heard him, "Nothing, he just looked really...happy."

"What do you mean?" The old man watched him narrowed eyed.

The older teen laughed, "I'm actually the Bookman's apprentice, name's Lavi."

Allen was grateful for the interruption, "Allen Walker."

"Bookman, I didn't know you guys would be here today." Komui called out drawing their attention to him.

"We had some changes in our plan, so we decided to come a bit early." Bookman replied, "So do you have an anti-akuma weapon?"

Allen quickly pulled a story out of thin air. "I do, but it changed."

The bookman looked at him strangely, "changed?"

Allen was almost certain that they could hear his pounding heartbeats. "It started out as a deformed left arm, but later it became strange tattoos. Like this." Allen showed them his left arm.

Everyone crowded in to get a better look. Even the scientists looked up from their work.

The bookman looked at the swirling patterns that all connects to the cross at the back of the hand, "This is indeed strange. It seemed to be a parasite type."

"It could be a equipment type." Lavi pointed out, "We don't know if the make up of the cell changed or not."

Komui thought for a minute before asking Allen, "Can you activate it?"

Allen wondered if it was a good idea for them to see clown so soon. "I'm not sure." He said hesitantly, "It only worked once before when I was caught in a crossfire between a group of police and one Akuma.

Lavi laughed cheerfully, "You sure are lucky."

Allen glared at him. "I saw a person wearing a mask and with a white cape that looked like a clown. He took down the akuma then turned around and called my name."

Komui almost dropped his coffee, "Call?"

"Yep, he said "Allen" before he disappeared. Oh, I thought it wasn't fair if I call him with 'Hey you', so I named him Clown. I never tried to activate my anti-akuma weapon since then." He apologized.

"I suppose you will just need more practice." Komui was now holding his coffee cup with two hands. "Why don't you come with me for a sec." Komui asked before leading him towards a special elevator. Allen noticed that Bookman and Lavi were following them.

'_Great, I already got their attention. Last time it was with the destroyer of time prophesy, now my strange innocence.'_

Komui pressed a series of buttons, which sent the elevator down.

'_I remember this place so well. I can't believe that level 4 destroyed it! I hope Hevlaska will be here. Hevlaska...What about my synchronization rate?!'_ Allen reminded himself to chop Nobel to pieces when they meet the next time. Forgetting that there were two people watching him closely, Allen started to hum in order to calm himself.

Lavi turned to Allen,'_I never thought he was the musical type. That song makes me feel so relaxed!'_ He called out, "What's the name of that song?"

Allen flinched again, "Um...I don't think it has a name. My stepfather taught it to me when we were traveling around."

His nervous actions did not go unnoticed in the eyes of a Bookman,'_Why is that kid acting so strange? It's normal for newcomers to be nervous when they first come here, but...'_

"The five people here are the commander in chief. Show them your value, Allen." Komui said as Allen saw the five people high above them sitting in tall chairs. He was about to make a comment when five long scaly fingers grabbed him from behind.

'_These fingers...'_

"Hevlaska, how is his innocence?" Komui asked.

The tall serpent like creature name Hevlaska turned Allen around. Allen was so overjoyed to see her that he forgot to hide his feelings.

'_Maybe is just me, but why does Allen seemed happy seeing Hevlaska? Shouldn't he be scared or surprised like all the newbies?'_ Lavi made mental note to tell Bookman about it.

Just as Hevlaska was about to reach for Allen's arm, a cloud of mist formed around the area. Everyone paused to get a better look at the mist.

"What is that?" Lavi asked Hevalska.

Hevalska watched the mist condensing together, "It's innocence particles."

The condensed mist went to Allen, a mask formed followed by the black arms and the white cape. "Hevalska..." He called out to her in his childish voice as he touched her scaly fingers.

"Clown!" Allen called out, happy to see his partner.

"That's clown?" Lavi gasped, his eyes wide just like everyone else.

_'I never seen anything like this since I was here in the Order!'_ Hevalska touched her forehead to Clown's and Allen's. She seemed satisfied because she let Allen go soon afterwards. Clown seemed content enough to stay around Hevalska.

"Clown is very different from the other innocence." Hevalska noted.

"What's the difference?" Komui asked.

_'Should I tell them?'_ Hevalska thought about it for a moment, "Clown somehow gained knowledge of self along with a will of his own so he is capable of fighting Akuma without Allen inovaking. How, I don't know, but Allen's current synchronization rate is exactly one hundred percent."

'_One hundred percent...I thought it went higher .'_ Allen turned to look at Clown who was giggling,_'Making me worry for nothing.' _Allen sighed before noticing everyone's eyes were on him. "What is it?"

"You do know that your synchronization rate is one hundred percent right?" Lavi almost shouted. "You are almost at the level of a general and you are not even surprised?!"

Allen just shrugged.

_'A innocence that somehow changed now has a mind of its own. It can act without his user's permission. That boy's synchronization rate, the fruit of Cross' training? No, I doubt. That man is...'_ Bookman thought, _'Maybe I need to visit the Library.'_

"Allen Walker, " Hevalska spoke, "You will one day be the Destroyer of Time in the future. It is what I have seen."

"Destroyer of time." Allen grimaced. _'Last time I heard this prophesy, the Earl killed me...'_

'His actions are so strange! Gramps will want to talk with me after this._'_ Lavi groaned mentally.

"Oh right, you asked about the innocence." Komui spoke, "They are God's crystal..."

Allen tuned out as Komui continued, it didn't seemed necessary to hear it again, ''_We are no different from a toy collection in the end.' _Allen thought, only Bookman noticed his clenched fist.

"Fight! That's your duty as the apostles." The five figures called out to him.

'_But I fight for a different reason right?' _Allen wondered.

"Sorry about that lengthy explication. Let's fight together to save the world, even though you won't have a salary." Komui winked, reaching out with his hand.

"Sure." Allen shook hands with Komui._'This time will be different, I will be prepared.'_

"Welcome to the black priesthood."

***

Allen sat on the floor of his new room. He was exhausted from the whole acting thing.'_Timcanpy is gone again. My past in the film is still the same right?' _

"You are getting better at story making!" Clown appeared beside him, giggling.

"I have to thank Lavi for that, but it was a half truth and you did call my name when I first saw you." Allen mumbled about 'heart attack' before turning around to see the same poster that he had seen before.

"You know you eyes are going to pop out of their socket soon." Clown pointed out.

"I was just thinking about what Mana will say if he knows that I'm back to the starting line, walking that path again." Allen traced the picture with his hand.

Clown sighed, "Nobel is right, you are an idiot, don't tell me that you forgot what Master Cross had said to you."

_A path is something you create as you walk it. The ground you've trodden hardens, and that's what forms your path. You're the only one that can create your own path._

"I doubt anyone could forget those words. They were not something my master would usually say." Allen frowned.

"Then you should listen better." Clown continued in a mocking voice, "You better get rid of that look of yours or I will cry."

Clown suddenly froze. "What is it?" Allen asked, worried.

Clown touched Allen's left eye, "You eye is bleeding again."

Allen quickly ran to the washroom, hoping that no one saw him. He sighed when it refused to stop bleeding.

"Bad memories?" Clown asked, worried.

"I used his power." Allen held his bleeding eye as he looked at the mirror. "It turns one against their own kind."

"They became so full of guilt, that they kill themselves... or self destruct in Akuma's case." Clown added.

The left side of Allen's face was now covered in blood, "They kept on crying out to me! They kept on screaming...!" Allen hunched over, "Traitor! Why didn't you save us?! Why did you let us go?! Why?! They kept on yelling and yelling..."

"You had no choice." Clown hugged Allen.

"I had other choices!" Allen argued, "I could-"

"No, you will not do that! You will not invoake me!" Clown sounded serious for the first time. "Innocence is filled with the desire to destroy Akuma. Now that I gained a personality, my desire will be stronger than your human instint to survive." Clown continued, "If you invoake me, the chances are that I will lose myself and continue to hunt down Akuma even when every bones in your body are broken." Clown sighed, "I can like this you know."

"I won't use his power again, I don't want to hear the souls cry like that ever again." Allen washed his face before going back to his room.

Clown revert back into particles, _'You will have to use it again, Allen.'_

***

While Allen was going back to his room, Bookman was hiding in the shadow. '_He has so much to hide, his innocence too.'_ Millions of thoughts were going inside Bookman's mind at once,'_Who is this boy?' _The Bookman walked away when there was nothing left to be heard, "This is starting to get complicated."

***

While everyone in the order retired to his or her bed, Komui was still up looking at the video that showed Allen's past. Suddenly, his bat golem rang."Hevalska request to see you."

'_Hevalska?'_ Komui paused the video before hurrying down the elevator.

"Komui." Hevalska called out as she saw the elevator coming down.

"It's something wrong Hevalska?" Komui asked, worried.

"It's about Allen Walker's innocence." She replied.

Komui immediately went on alert.

"I wanted to talk to you about it before anyone else knew."

Komui noted her her trembling hands,'_I never seen Hevalska so nervous.'_

"The makeup is similar to innocence, but it's...strange...different." She whispered.

"Strange?" Komui gasped. '_Similar yet different?'_

"I don't know, I really don't know." Hevalsaka shook her head, "Maybe Allen might know more...Wait!" She called out when Komui was about to leave,

"Is there something else I should know about?" Komui waited. '_I wonder if Cross knew that Clown was going to appear. He rejected so many students before, so why did he chose to take Allen in, who was an unknown orphan.'  
_

Hevalsaka looked at Komui in the eyes, "Be wary of Clown..."

***

Kanda was still awake in his room, staring at his only personally possessions -The hourglass and the lotus. His mind was still on that white haired kid.

"Did he know about my curse?" Kanda clenched his fist as he continued to look at the lotus. "Does that mean he know that person? No, he wouldn't have known. He is just an annoying newcomer." Kanda closed his eyes, trying to get some rest before his morning excises.

***

Inside a different room, Lenalee was twisting and turning in her bed. Anyone could see that she was having a very bad dream.

'_Where is this place?'__ Lenalee looked around her dream world, a black moon shone above her. __'Why am I here?'_

_Countless ruins lay around her above the red water. There was no one there but her. Her world spoke of battles, blood, and death. A strange silver mask floated onto the surface, sending ripples across the water._

'_Wake up! Wake up! This is nothing but a dream, a dream!'__ Lenalee cried out, __'Help me brother, help me!'__ Tears ran down her cheeks, __'Someone help me!'_

Lenalee gasped as she sat up on her bed having finally escaping her terrifying nightmare, "What was that?"

***

Lavi was leaning against his balcony, watching the sunrise. He shook his head now and then as if he was trying to forget something. However, even for a Bookman's apprentice, forgetting was not included in their agendas.

"Why did he say that I looked happy?" Lavi stared at the sun until his eyes hurt. "Why couldn't he see that it was just a mask?" Lavi let his head dropped to his arms. "Why am I so frustrated with him? It's it because he is so young, unmarked by the war? He is nothing more than ink on paper to me!"

Lavi went back to his room where the light had yet reach, "Maybe I should take a mission or something to clear my head."

***

Inside Allen's room, only his calm breathing could be heard as sunlight entered the room. A cloud of mist appeared beside him, watching him.

"You never realized how much impact you had on their life." Clown no longer sounded childish, "Don't lose your grip now or they will disappear forever."

"Soon the curtains will raise again. What will you do this time Allen?"

* * *

........pause.

...I didn't expect this to be longer than the other two.

Basically we know Clown and Nobel have something to hide. The Bookman is watching Allen already. The events have modified a bit as well (I guess I wanted to introduce the characters earlier).

Oh, this wasn't really...time travel (it has a wide range of meaning though), but since it won't be explained for a long time, let's just classify it as time travel for now (Since Allen considers this as his past).

Thanks for reading!


	4. Taking the First Step

I finally got this chapter posted, didn't expect it to take this long to write. I apologize for the long wait!

Thanks for all the reviews!

Astaline: I will tried to updated as fast as possible (I'm not doing a very good job of that right now)

ASDFers: Allen will know the basic idea of what's going to happen, he won't know everything. His powers will be limited so he won't have some kind of godly strength. (It will be boring if he defeat everyone just by flicking his hand.)

Addenza: I realized that going with the manga would be dull, but please don't kill me as some scenes will be similar.

Glon: Allen wanted to make some changes and Nobel was the one that reminded him that he could. However we don't know what Nobel's role in this story.

Stoneygeek: Thanks for pointing out the mistakes. Editing was never my forte. I'm going to get beta as soon as I'm not rushing around like crazy. I hope this chapter might have less mistakes. (...I doubt)

Viviene: I'm glad you like the idea with going back in time. I only came across two other stories that had something to do with time traveling (Maybe I missed the rest?).

Darkz13: Not having his future memories? I wonder if I should make him forget, slowly. I kept his new powers because they might end up complicating his life more than his original ones.  
I will do my best to complete this story. : )

**Disclaimer:** I do not own this manga in any form, but Lulubell's ability sure come in handy!

**Chapter Summary: **What if your memories weren't as well as you thought. What if you had to lie some more. What if you had a dream that you couldn't explain. What if you had to tell people a children's bedtime story. Too many 'what if'? There is a lot more coming.

* * *

It was quiet in the Order as the sun rose up. Some members were up to get breakfast, while others tried to get some last minute sleep before they get pulled out of their bed. Lenalee pushed the coffee cart into the science department, she sighed when she saw the scientist.

'_They are up early again!'_ She frowned, but quickly put on a happy face when everyone looked up, "Coffee!" She called out.

"Morning Lenalee. Oh, thanks." Reever took a cup, "I was so sure we got everything done yesterday. I double, no, triple checked the to-do list." He shook his head in frustration.

"We are always getting more!" Johnny slammed his head repeatedly onto his desk when '65' brought yet another stack of paperwork.

"Ow, my head!" Tapp wailed as he too received another stack.

"Just shut up and get to work!" Reever glared at them. He turned to see Lenalee looking at her brother's office, "He's in there."

Lenalee flinched at Reever's voice. She thanked him before going inside.

'_Everyone knows how much your brother means to you.'_ Reever watched her as her eyes shone with happiness that she couldn't hide.

***

Bookman and Komui were going over yesterday's events inside his office and was apparently in a heated discussion.

"Allen might be a threat to the Order?" Komui questioned. '_Come to think of it, he was very jumpy, but Cross always knew who's friend, who's foe. He may be a bit to the 'black' side, but Cross was always respected within the Order.'_

"I believe it is safe for him to stay here, but that brat got a lot to hide...I doubt they were bad memories." Bookman brushed his hair with his hand, "I wonder if Earl knew about Clown..."

Komui clenched his pen so hard it almost broke, "He shouldn't. They met before, but Allen's arm was still deformed back then."

"Let's hope this information stays within the Order." Bookman went on, "Clown is too different. He will attract too much attention."

Komui looked up from his paper, "Could he be the -"

"Brother!" Lenalee called out. She blushed when she realized that she was interrupting their conversation. "I didn't know you were busy brother. I thought you might want some coffee."

"Thanks Lenalee." Komui smiled when she poured him coffee.

"Bookman, I got some tea here too. Would you like a cup?" Lenalee asked.

"Ah, yes please. Tea always refreshes me." Bookman replied.

'_He will probably do tea reading again.'_ Komui noted. "Lenalee, could you tell Allen to see me in my lab? Oh, and find Kanda as well, there is a new mission for both of you."

"Sure brother!" Lenalee smiled before heading off.

Bookman watched Lenalee leave before turning back to his tea, "Something on your mind?" He noticed Komui's tense figure.

Komui shook his head, "Nothing important."

Bookman knew that Komui hated himself for sending so many to their death, even though it was necessary for the Order. Those memories were easy to forget, but how could you forget the fact that you were sending your own sister onto the very same battlefield that so many died on?

"I will be returning to the library." Bookman placed his cup down onto the table.

"So soon? You just got here." Komui looked surprised, "I was planning to send you and Lavi along with Lenalee on this mission. Kanda and Allen will be leaving for Martel as soon as possible. That one can't wait. I guess I will have to make some changes" Komui started to look through the mission files.

"I suppose I could postpone my trip. I will go to Martel myself. Let Kanda and Allen go with Lavi and Lenalee." Bookman replied.

'_Didn't he wanted to watch Allen himself?'_ Komui arched his eyebrows; "I thought I should let Allen get more comfortable with Clown before sending him on a big one."

"There is no need, Allen is more than ready." Bookman stated, his mind went over the conversation between Allen and Clown. "I will inform Lavi myself." Without another word, he left the office.

"I guess I will tell Allen when I see him in my lab." Komui looked at the golden golem that was sleeping on his desk. 'Did you knew that this was going to happen, Cross?"

***

Inside a very casual bedroom, Allen was still in bed mumbling about Mana and piano.

Clown appeared above him with a sneer plastered on his face. He reached down and pinched Allen's nose.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Clown giggled when Allen jumped up from his bed.

"Oh Clown, you didn't have to do that." Allen yawned as he tried to find his clothes.

_Knock, knock_.

'Who could that be' Allen thought to himself. He opened the door and found Lenalee standing on the other side. "Lenalee! I didn't know it was you."

"Good morning Allen, A finder told me that you were still in your room. I didn't expect you to be still in bed." Lenalee laughed.

"Still in bed?" Allen turned around to see the sun high up in the sky, he mentally cursed when he realized it was almost 10 o'clock. "Clown! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!" Allen yelled.

In hurry, he left the door wide open. Lenalee saw a strange white figure giggling at Allen who was currently red in the face trying to find his clothes. The white figure noticed her gaze and fell silent. He turned towards her revealing his silver mask.

Lenalee held back a gasp. '_It's that mask, that very same one!'_

"Sorry lenalee, I can't believe I slept till now. Lenalee?" Allen saw Lenalee's tense figure looking at Clown. He slapped his head when he realized that it was the first time that Lenalee met his innocence.

"My bad, I forgot to introduce you to my innocence, Clown." Allen gestured towards Clown who regarded her carefully.

"Oh." Lenalee snapped out of her shock. "I'm sorry for staring, my name is Lenalee in case you didn't know."

"Nice to meet you!" Clown gigged before bowing low.

Lenalee gasped when Clown spoke. She didn't expect an innocence to be able to talk like that, along with a strange childish personality.

"Um...Clown has a...mind of his own so he is capable of voicing his own...opinion." Allen sweat dropped. '_Lenalee looked like she is about to faint.'_

"Oh, okay." She nodded weakly, "My brother need you in his lab. I suppose you need to get your breakfast first." Lenalee whispered goodbye before rushing down the hall.

Allen sighed before closing his door, "You have a knack for giving people heart attacks, you know." Allen told Clown.

Clown didn't answer for he had a lot more than that to worry about. '_I told Nobel to freeze the lake! Freeze! Not to destroy it! Now she got the connection again, it's only a matter of time before Allen finds out about it. There has to be a way to cut the connection permanently.'_ Clown hissed in frustration. '_... I am... getting too... attached.'_

"Clown, are you okay?" Allen was surprised to see Clown so edgy.

"I'm fine!" Clown snapped before disappearing in a puff of mist.

'_Did I miss something here?'_ Allen wondered as he was changing his shirt. He almost gasped when he saw scars all over his body. '_Nobel told me that I would be placed in my younger body, but the scars were from the older me! How am I going to explain this to Komui?!'_ His eyes landed on a strange tear shaped white crystal attached to a silver necklace that he was wearing around his neck. "Now that's something I definitely didn't have before."

Allen quickly got dressed and headed for the cafeteria. He was still thinking about his scars and the crystal when he noticed a brick wall right in front of him.

"A dead end, a...dead...end." Allen spluttered, "I'M LOST?!"

***

As Allen tried to find his way to the cafeteria, which was impossible for one who had no sense of direction, Bookman found Lavi in his bedroom, scribbling on his logbook.

"Hey gramps." Lavi greeted Bookman without looking up. "I guess you wanted to talk about what happened yesterday."

"Of course." Bookman sat down on Lavi's bed. "There is something I need to make sure of. Can you hum that tune?"

"The one that Allen was humming? Of course, my memories aren't that bad." Lavi tried to hum, but was shocked when he realized that he couldn't. "Why couldn't I hum it?" He was about to slam his head against the wall. It was unimaginable that he, the heir to his gramps' legacy just forgot something.

"Don't worry about it. I couldn't hum it either." Lavi stared at gramps. It was probably not 'that' much of a problem if he forgot something, but for a full fledged Bookman... "I went over the boy's history, there weren't anything...interesting. Minus the fact that he turned his step-father into an Akuma."

"WHAT?" Lavi went to sit by Bookman.

"I won't repeat myself again, it was clear that you heard what I said." Bookman glared.

"I did, but I'm really surprised. I though he was untouched by such sad events." Lavi started at the ceiling. "What happened afterwards?"

Bookman closed his eyes; "His innocence activated for the first time and destroyed the Akuma, not before getting that cursed eye of his."

Lavi looked interested at the mention of the cursed eye, "What does it do?"

"It reveals the Akuma's soul." Bookman stood up and headed for the door, "I will be going on a mission by myself. You will be going on another one with Kanda, Lenalee, and Allen. I trust that you will keep a close eye on him." The door clicked close behind Bookman, leaving Lavi to digest all the information by himself.

***

Lenalee found Kanda who was still in a heated augment with a group of finder.

'_Not again.'_ Lenalee mentally groaned. "Kanda!" She cried out when Kanda whipped his hand at the finder.

"Lenalee." Kanda released the finder that was squirming in his iron grip before heading towards Lenalee. "Mission?"

"Yes. Brother wants us in his office." Lenalee replied. She was still shocked from the encounter with Clown, and now sitting in the front row seat getting a blast of Kanda's anger and rage wasn't helping. It was putting a lot of unwanted pressure on her head. She sighed as another wave of pain slammed her in the head.

"Headache?" Kanda asked.

"Just a bit." Lenalee tapped her forehead, "It will go away soon." She knocked on her brother's door before going through. She saw Lavi trying to sleep on the couch, but end up getting scowled by Bookman

"Kanda, Leanlee! You guys are all here except Allen, but I will inform him later." Komui's eyes shone with a strange gleam.

"So there was a change of plans? That still doesn't explain why I have to go with Beansprout." Kanda glared at Komui.

"Beansprout?" Lavi looked amused, "Nice nickname, Yu." He chocked back laughter as a vein popped on Kanda's forehead.

"I will behead you with Mugen if you dare to call me by that name again!" Kanda unshed his sword and pointed at Lavi.

Lavi was about to reply when someone knocked on the door. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." A white haired teen stood by the doorway, unsure of whether he should be here or not.

"Ah, Allen. Glad to have you joining us. Take a seat." Komui smiled.

"Oh, was I supposed to be here? I was kind of lost looking for the cafeteria." Allen's faces turned red in embarrassment. A sudden flash of gold appeared out of nowhere smashed him in the head, "Timpanpy! I was wondering where you were!"

"Ah, I was going over the videos last night." Komui grabbed a folder from within his stack of paperwork and random folders. "Let's get down to business. I was going to send Allen and Kanda to Martel, but Bookman volunteered to go there himself. So Allen and Kanda will be going with Lavi and Lenalee."

'_I'm glad I got a mission to do, but why did gramps volunteered to go somewhere else?'_ Lavi spoke, "Is this mission so dangerous that we need four exorcists?"

"Well, to start it's in Hamelin, a city in Germany, which isn't that bad." Komui went over the reports. " But the finder group that was stationed there noticed some Akuma sightings. It seems that the problem is getting worse."

"They will be dead by night fall."

Everyone turned to see Clown floating behind Allen, smirking. Kanda, who had never met Clown before drew his sword and was about to swing down when black claws effortlessly block the attack. Kanda jumped back in shock when he saw Clown's long pointed fingers.

"It's not very nice of you to attack people right when you meet them." Clown gigged before letting his fingers return to normal.

'_How did he block my swing so easily?'_ Kanda's eyes narrowed, "Who are you?"

"His name is Clown, he is my innocence." Allen answered. He was worried that Clown was going to going to challenge Kanda. '_I won't be surprised at all if Clown asked Kanda to play a game with him.'_

"Whatever." Kanda shed his sword

Lenalee mentally sighed when she realized that her headache wasn't going to leave her anytime soon. '_Why did Clown say that the finders will all be dead by nightfall? This matter is too serious to be joked with!'_

Bookman who was standing in the shadow watched the four 'brats', five if you count Clown, in silence.

"Since we are done with the introductions, let's continue with the briefing." Komui hid his shock behind his calm mask when he saw Clown easily block an attack that was too quick for him to follow. It didn't help when Clown gigged childishly as if nothing happened. "The four of you will be leaving tonight for Hamelin, more details could be found within your mission folder. Please read them carefully, I don't want any unnecessary accidents!" Komui gave them each a good stare. He was about to send them off when Timcanpy started to flap his wings.

"What is it?" Allen asked Timcanpy who pointed at Bookman. "You want to go with him?"

Timcanpy nodded before landing on Bookman's shoulder.

"I suppose he will be coming with me." Bookman mused.

"Bookman will be leaving as soon as he is ready. You four will be leaving in...8 hours, plenty of time to go over everything. You will need to come with me to my lab, Allen." He called out.

"I can always get breakfast after this." Allen murmured as he followed Komui to another elevator.

***

After a few stops of coffee and paperwork, Allen and Komui finally entered the lab room. Allen took a seat as Komui went over to check some tubes.

"We were all wondering if your innocence is still a parasite type, just a few tests should cover that." Komui grabbed some strange machines that were piled in the corner. "Also, does your left eye work only when an Akuma is nearby or could it also activate by your will?"

"Both, though the latter is much harder and it takes a lot out of me." Allen replied. '_I don't think they should know about the evolved form, there is no way I can make up a story for that, yet.' _

"Then never mind." Komui laughed wickedly as he revealed all kinds of medical devices, "Prepare yourself Allen!"

'_Those machines were used to fix my left arm, why do I need them now?'_ Allen shrieked as the Komui brought the machines down on him.

The scientists looked up from their paperwork as they heard Allen's scream. 'So it begins, the Komui torture.'

***

Allen was still sore from Komui's so call tests. "I don't think I can take another step."

"You don't have to." Clown appeared beside him. "We are taking the elevator, to see Hevlaska."

"I know that." Allen sobbed. "I can't believe I forgot how bad Komui's treatments were. I will take a good kick from a level 4 anytime of the day."

"Yeah right." Clown gigged, "I for one do not want to be near a level 4."

"Allen Walker" Hevlaska called out. "Is something bothering your?"

"How did you know?" Allen flinched.

"It's normal for newcomer to visit, some senior member also come for a chat now and then." Hevlaska replied. "Is it about your prophecy?" She asked.

"Yeah." Allen wasn't really sure were he should start. After all, he couldn't give away anything from the future. "Does the prophecy that you make always come true?"

"Yes, they usually come true." Hevlaska whispered, "but there is still a slight chance that they don't."

"Really?" Allen never heard that before. "There are special cases?"

"Yes. If the prophecy didn't come true, then it could be one of the two reasons: A big change in your life, personality and so forth after the prophecy is made. Or outside interference." Hevlaska answered. "It's normally the latter as outside interference is very capable of changing you completely."

'_I didn't really change that much after I joined the Order, or maybe I did, but outside interference seemed more likely. Though I can't think of anything or anyone that.... Oh right, there were a lot of people and things that could have changed me. One of them is right next to me.'_ Allen toyed with all the possibilities in his head.

"If you like, I could check your innocence again." Hevlaska noticed Allen's uncertainty.

"That will be great." Allen sighed in relief; he wasn't sure why he was so tense when it comes to prophecy. Might had to do with the fact that Earl stabbed him in the chest which should have...killed him.

Long vine like material warped around Allen's left arm, almost like a cocoon. Hevlaska frown when she sensed something strange. It wasn't until a few minutes later of searching did she realized that Allen's synchronization rate was zero!

'_How? I was so sure that it was one hundred percent last night!'_ Hevlaska was so deep in thought that she failed to notice Clown staring at her. A strange shiver went down her back before she blacked out.

"_Where am I?" Hevlaska asked as she viewed her surrounding. A castle like mansion fit for the richest noble was on her right. An extravagant garden on her left was filled with flowers, bushes and trees. They waved along with the wind that toyed with her hair. She reached up to brush her bangs out of her face when she gasped in shock. _

"_How?" Hevlaska looked down to see the body she had before she received her innocence. Her sandy brown hair ran pass her waist tied back by a pale yellow ribbon. She was wearing the dress that she loved dearly, the very one that she wore on that fateful day. She fell down to her knees with tears running down her cheeks. "When was the last time I cried?"_

_"Is it painful to see yourself human again?" A figure walked up to her. His white hair danced with the wind._

_Hevlaska looked up, "Allen?"_

_He lifted his head revealing a silver mask. His right hand brushed her across her forehead. "For Allen's sake and yours, please forget."_

"Hevlaska?" Allen called out when she froze in midway of checking his innocence.

'_Why do I feel like I just forgot something?'_ She shivered. "The prophecy is still the same and everything else is in order, so there is nothing you need to worry about."

Allen smiled and whispered a thank you before going to the cafeteria. He was still troubled about what happened to Hevlaska. '_I thought she blacked out. First Lenalee, now Hevlaska,'_

***

While the four exorcists were studying their mission folder, Reever and the other scientists were going over their mountain sized paper stacks that were left by their desk.

'_We won't be able to sleep tonight.'_ He sighed warily before going through his stack. A folder, probably Komui's, caught his eyes. '_I wonder why it's here.'_ He went through the folder.

_Name: Allen Walker_

_Age: 15 years old (not exact)_

_Height: 168 cm_

_Hair colour: White_

_Eye colour: Gray_

_Blood type: O_

_Little is known about his past except for what I had found from Timcanpy's video. His stepfather Mana is shrouded in mystery. Allen Walker himself could be said as an enigma. There seemed to be numerous scars on his body. He said they were from accidents, but I believe that was not entirely true. There was a small hole on his heart that was covered by a piece of innocence... He should have died._

_Note: There seemed to be a lock on certain videos that we couldn't access. I believe General Cross created these locks, reason unknown._

_Innocence: Parasite type_

_I did some test on Allen myself today. The tattoos seemed to be going in a pattern, which was proven after doing some scans. The black ink like substance (unknown material) coated the arteries of his left arm, which eventually led to his heart. Clown himself could be considered as an enigma as well. It was impossible to get any data on him, every test result turned up as unknown or error. _

_I classified Clown as a Parasite type. I will add more information as soon as the other test results come through._

_Cursed eye:_

_It seemed that this eye was given the ability to see the soul of Akuma. It was the work of Allen's stepfather. It did raise some questions about his stepfather's origin. Perhaps the ability to curse came from black matter since his stepfather could be said as an Akuma at that time. Allen claimed that he could use the eye at will, though it would drain him both mentally and physically. This statement has not been proven yet!_

_Misson log:_

_none_

Reever shut the folder and placed it on his desk. '_I got to give this back to Komui._' He quickly went back to work even though his mind was still going over the folder.

***

Allen watched the starry sky as the train rushed pass cities and villages. '_We wouldn't get there until morning. I wonder how's Bookman doing. I hope the Akuma won't have that annoying ability like last time.'_ He sighed.

"Nervous Allen?" Lenalee who was sitting across from him asked.

"A bit. Though I wish the train could go faster." Allen replied.

"I rather get a bed." Lavi groaned as he banged his head against his seat again.

"Che." Kanda mumbled something about idiot and beansprout under his breath.

"Lavi, did the reports remind you of anything?" Lenalee took out her mission folder.

"Something wrong?" Lavi rubbed his head. He winced when he felt a bump.

"It reminded me of this story I heard from somewhere with all the disappearance of children, music playing at night and sightings of rats." Kanda answered.

"That one!" Lenalee blushed when she realized that she had yelled out.

"Which one?" Allen looked confused like always.

"The report sounds almost like this legend that was told to children." Lenalee spoke. "Why don't you explain to Allen, Kanda?"

'_Wasting my time.'_ A vein popped on Kanda's forehead, "Fine! It goes something like this. I will not repeat myself."

"There was this unnamed city that attracted a lot of tourists with its arts and music. The people who lived there were very proud, they bragged about their culture and celebrations. Some believed they angered God with their attitude for a huge disaster soon struck the city."

"That doesn't sound like a story that kids should hear." Allen shivered. He thought the story would be more cheerful, but then again, it was supposed to have some similarities with their mission.

"Shut up and let me continue!" Kanda growled.

"I'm sorry!"

"Hundreds or maybe even thousands of rats infested the city. They ate the crops, clawed at the tapestry, bit through the wooden polls. Basically they were destroying the city along with its 'glory'." Kanda paused as if he was deep in thought, "The nobles called a meeting regarding the issues with the rats. Some wanted to send the cats, while others wanted to use poison, the rest wanted to use fire to drive the rats out. Their plans were horrible failures." Kanda frowned in disgust.

"The version I heard weren't like this." Lenalee looked paled. "Oops. Sorry Kanda." She realized that she was interrupting.

Kanda just shook his head, "The cats were the ones that ended up eating the poison and the fire burned their dead corps. None of the rats were harmed. When the town people were on the verge of despair, a lone traveler appeared bringing hope along with him."

"I'm glad there is some hope for the town." Allen sighed in relief, oblivious to the murderous intent coming from Kanda.

"He told the town that if he got rid of the rats, they would pay him for every rat he killed. The town agreed. The traveler drew out a pipe and played a smoothing melody that seemed to drive the rats mad. They squeaked in pain as they ran blindly towards the river. They dived in and drowned themselves."

"That's a horrible way to die." Allen commented.

Kanda pretended that he didn't hear Allen and continued with the story. "The traveler told the town to pay him, but they refused. They stated that there weren't any rats, so there weren't any reason to pay. The traveler was furious and told them that they would pay, at a higher price." Kanda stiffened when he realized everyone, as in every person on the train was listening to him. '_How did Lenalee talked me into this?'_

"The traveler appeared at the very edge of the town under the moon and played a joyful tune. He played and played until he was exhausted, but it paid off in the end. All the children in the town came to him. They left the city following his footsteps, never to be found." Kanda sigh in relief as he finished the story.

Lavi chuckled at Kanda's tense figure. "You know Yu, you should pursued a career of storytelling."

It took both Allen and Lenalee to hold Kanda back as he was about to behead Lavi on the spot.

"Let me kill you!"

***

Using the darkness to their advantage, the finders hid behind a stonewall

"The phone won't connect!" One of the finders cursed

"We have to warn the Headquarter!" Another was trying to catch her breath.

"Quiet! He's-"

Suddenly screams of agony filled the night as a strange creature ripped a finder in half. Blood rained down rendered their pale yellow cloak to a dark crimson red. The air reeked with the smell of rust and salt.

"Jason!" The female finder cried out when she realized that her friend was killed.

"Cherry, get out of here!" the finder beside her pushed her away.

"I found you!!!" The strange creature howled in laughter as he cut through another finder. His crimson eyes burned with madness as he surveyed his work. The scent of fear and the sound of frantic heartbeats caught his attention. His eyes narrowed into slits when he saw the female finder trying to escape. He jumped behind her when she reached a dead end.

"You are ruining my fun, little girl! Time for you to join your friends!" He swiped his claw at the finder as she turned around. Her mouth formed a silent scream as she collapsed in her own blood. Thousands of ruby eyes watched from the shadow, hungry for blood and flesh. He chuckled at their excitement, for he too could not resist the call of fresh kill. But it was too early to celebrate for there will soon be stronger preys trapped within their grasp.

"Don't keep me waiting, Exorcists!"

* * *

squeak....squeak...squeak, squeak.

The story told by Kanda was a modified version of ((Pied Piper of Hamelin)). The idea of using this legend was inspired by ((Keys to the Kingdom)) which had its own version of Piper, his children and rats that sail on boats. I wasn't sure if adding a completely different mission at such early stage was a good idea. Nevertheless, I hope you guys will be able to continue enjoying the story. : )

This chapter is the last foundation that needed to be laid, so I can move on with the actions and things like that. Let's see how well Allen will do with this mission as he has no idea what's going to happen.

Happy early/right on time/late Easter everyone!!!


End file.
